Eczema in children

Topic dermatitis or eczema is a common skin disorder that usually begins at 5 years of age, but almost all studies that defined the underlying immunological changes underlying eczema and targeting new treatment options have been made on the skin of the adult. A study just published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology characterizes immunological changes for the first time in the skin of children with eczema.

"Our results offer new directions for targeted therapies for children with eczema," while some of the characteristics of eczema in children are the same as in adults, our study showed significant differences that are important in understanding eczema in children. Children and develop personalized treatments that maximize efficiency and minimize potential side effects. "

Currently there is no targeted therapy for affected children, who are usually treated with topical steroids and, in severe illness with immune drugs. The new study evaluated the affected skin and unaffected children in the first six months of their eczema and compared the immune profiles to the skin of healthy children and also to affected and non-affected adults with eczema.

The study examined the central and early role in the road leading to allergic immune (TH), which helps explain the association of eczema, asthma and allergies in children. In a previous study, Paler and his colleagues found evidence of the activation of this immune and TH blood pathway. This channel is currently critical to the development of targeted therapy for moderate to severe eczema, suggesting that these agents tested in adults may also be useful in young children. Increasing the biomarkers of itch (IL-31) on the skin marks another therapeutic target useful for children.

In blood samples from children with and without eczema studies during the first years of life, the eczema group showed suppressed development of an immune pathway that treats infections (TH). This observation may help explain why children with more severe eczema were the most common herpes and mollusk virus infections.

Several differences in the skin of children with eczema, raises doubts about the results in adults are now considered essential for understanding eczema. The skin of adult eczema is deficient in natural agents that fight staph infections and viruses, and this deficiency is believed to be an important reason for the high risk of these infections in eczema at all ages. However, the levels of these antimicrobial factors in the skin of young children with eczema are very high, suggesting that deficiency does not play a role in frequent skin infections at an early age.

A characteristic feature of eczema at any age is a poor skin barrier, which leads to dryness and facilitates the active entry of the immune system such as bacteria, irritants and allergens. Flagging, a key protein in skin barrier function deteriorates in adults. This has been attributed to genetic defects and immune cell products that prevent the production of flagging. Flagging deficiency was attributed to the lack of skin barrier in eczema. Unlike adults, however, it was found that the skin of children with eczema have a large amount of flagging, despite its poor barrier function and thickening of the skin that is comparable to the skin of adults with eczema . This unexpected finding suggests that flagging deficiency may not be the driving force behind barrier problems and treatments for this protein may not be as beneficial for children with eczema as adults.

A panel results were generated from blood and skin samples from each participating child affected by eczema. "Our study is the first step towards personalized medicine for children with eczema," Paler said. "We need to gather much more data to start matching treatments aimed at the specific characteristics of a disease."